


shiny

by orphan_account



Series: July Prompts [9]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Dissociation, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, echo is small, fight me, fluff tho, rex takes care of his shinies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:55:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25250470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Shinies don’t last long,that’s what Rex had told him.And now he knows why.
Relationships: CT-21-0408 | Echo/CT-7567 | Rex
Series: July Prompts [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1812328
Comments: 6
Kudos: 84





	shiny

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt # 9: Withdraw, Echo/Rex

He doesn’t know how he makes it onto a gunship.

His heart pounds painfully against his ribs, but his breaths are deliberately controlled, even and deep, limbs heavy and mind blank.

When the doors slide open, he files out with the other troopers, but as soon as he’s in the hangar, his resolve crumbles, and everything goes fuzzy and muted. When he comes back, there’s someone talking to him, low and soothing.

“-ot you, Ey’ika, you’re good, so good, we’re okay, I have you. So brave, mesh'la shiny, verd’ika, I’m here now.”

He’s warm. Warm and- Safe. He’s safe. Echo blinks, skin tingling, the dim lighting of Rex’s quarters vaguely registering in his hazy thoughts before he takes in a deep breath, pressing back against the chest behind him. He doesn’t say anything, doesn’t trust his voice so soon, but Rex lets out a relieved noise all the same.

“Hey, back with me?”

He nods, licks his lips and tries to remember exactly what all had happened, but he comes up empty, and his frustration only grows. Rex’s arms tighten around his waist, tugging him inadvertently closer, and Echo lets his head tip back to rest against his shoulder.

“Do you remember anything?”

“I-“ His voice breaks, and he swallows harder, turning to tuck his face against the captain’s neck to hide the moisture that wells up in his eyes. “I lost Fives.” He murmurs against his skin, and Rex waits, thumb rubbing soothing circles against his hip. “Made it onto a gunship, and then the hangar... it’s all blank after that.”

Rex hums, the sound a soft rumble against Echo’s forehead. “Kix checked you over,” Echo stiffened at that, the fear of being in such a weak, defenseless state while people _touched_ him and _looked_ at him while he was helpless to stop it nearly overwhelming, but Rex taps against his skin, firm and grounding. _Okay_? At Echo’s hastily tapped _fine_ , he continues. “Said you... zoned out. Disassociated.”

“Why?” Echo croaks, and Rex hesitates again.

“Was this your first battle? Your first _real_ battle?”

“Yes.” He admits quietly, and doesn’t like the way Rex’s jaw clenches above him. He was in Torrent now, it didn’t matter that he has no fucking idea what he’s doing, didn’t matter that he was _scared_. _Shinies don’t last long_ , that’s what Rex had told him. Now he knows why. There’s a brief flash of blood and corpses and smoke and he jerks involuntarily, hand coming up to clutch at the collar of Rex’s blacks, choosing to ignore the tremors that are slowly spreading throughout his frame. “I’m fine. Is Fives...?”

“He’s good.” He can the grin in Rex’s voice, and finds himself relaxing further. “In general berthing with the others. Worried about _you_ , though.”

“How long have I been out?”

The captain’s silence was answer enough, and Echo lets out a groan that makes Rex shiver. It made sense, though. He’d been cleaned, can’t feel the dirt, sweat and blood clinging to his skin, and the blacks he’s wearing don’t fit him as tightly as his own, don’t cling to his lithe frame as easily as his new, crisp set that he’d been gifted after Rishi. Coric had been up his ass after the outpost about putting some meat on his bones, ranting about _kriffing shinies_ and _skipping meals_ , which, in Echo’s opinion, was entirely not his fault, but he’d been delighted nonetheless when they’d found a pair that wasn’t _stretched_. These were not his.

“Sitrep?”

“ _Echo_.” Rex admonished quietly, pulling him tighter against him. “Stop _thinking_ so much. Everything’s fine, the battles over. You don’t have to keep _trying_ , vod’ika.”

There’s a smell that’s purely _Rex_ that never fails to put him at ease, a mix of GAR rationed soap and an underlying musk that smells like _home_ , and Echo lets it wash over him as he lets out a shaky exhale. “Thanks.”

Rex trails his fingers up and down his side, humming when Echo arches into the touch. “Anytime.”

**Author's Note:**

> fuck i actually like this pairing which means i’m going to get the random urge at 3am to write them, which also means i’ll think of a slow burn that i can waste valuable time and energy on that I’ll be tempted to post because I have no self control :(


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